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Bill Maher vs. the Flu Vaccine

The talk show host Bill Maher is best known for his pointed political commentary. But lately he has been dispensing surprisingly unscientific medical advice about flu and the vaccine that prevents it.

Mr. Maher recently told his Twitter followers that people who get flu shots are “idiots.” On his Friday HBO show “Real Time With Bill Maher,” he explained his opposition to the flu vaccine during an interview with Bill Frist, a heart surgeon who was a Republican senator from Tennessee.

Mr. Maher questioned letting someone stick “a disease into your arm,” wrongly implying that the flu shot contains a live virus. The flu shot is a killed vaccine. (Only the nasal mist vaccine contains a weakened live virus.)
He said he did not believe that healthy people were vulnerable to dying from the new H1N1 virus. This contradicts statements from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that young, healthy people from ages 5 to 24 appear particularly vulnerable to this flu. About a third of the 76 children who have died of H1N1 since April have had no underlying health problems.

Mr. Maher also discouraged pregnant women from getting vaccinated. Studies show pregnant women are among the most vulnerable to serious complications from H1N1.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Maher said he wasn’t available to discuss his views on flu vaccination. Here is an excerpt of his conversation with Dr. Frist about the government’s efforts to vaccinate against the new flu:

Mr. Maher: Why would you let them be the ones to stick a disease into your arm? I would never get a swine flu vaccine or any vaccine. I don’t trust the government, especially with my health.

Dr. Frist: On the swine flu, I know you really believe that. And let me just …

Mr. Maher: (interrupting) You say that like I’m a crazy person.

Dr. Frist: Well, here you are. I think here you are.

Dr. Frist then told the story of a healthy 30-year-old man who recently died of H1N1 flu in his hospital.

Mr. Maher interrupted with skepticism.

Mr. Maher: This is not a very serious flu. Let’s be honest. There must be something more to this. I cannot believe that a perfectly healthy person died of this swine flu. That person was not perfectly healthy. Western medicine misses a lot.

I have been amazed by the number of people that have voiced their skepticism and reluctance to get a flu shot this year. Educated people, too – people I work with, who have Master’s degrees (in a non-scientific field). The funniest one (if it wasn’t so sad) is the guy who is always talking about doing things (like converting his savings into gold) to “protect his family”. Meanwhile, he risks bringin the flu home to his wife and three kids.

I like Bill Maher as an entertainer, but I can’t take everything he says at face value.

Vaccines have probably done a lot of things in medicine to prolong life expectancy in this country, and much of the world, for that matter. At the rate this hysteria over vaccines is going, we’ll see a recurrence of diptheria and measles in the U.S someday, be careful what you wish for.

I enjoy Bill’s political commentary, and I don’t agree with Dr. Frist’s political leanings, but on matters of medicine and human health – I would listen to Dr. Frist’s advice more than Mr. Maher. A vaccine is not “injecting a disease in your arm.” Anyone who has passed 9th grade biology should know that. Mr. Maher may end up having blood on his hands from his comments.

Sometimes Bill Maher is great but I’m tired of him acting like he’s the smartest kid in the school, especially when he just flat-out refuses to listen to someone who might have some credible perspective to share. In this case Maher is sounding a lot like other commentators who don’t let facts get in the way of a good, outraged sound bite.

Bill Maher is a very funny man and I enjoy watching his show on Friday nights. But sometimes he can be a real ignoramus. His comments on the Swine Flu brought to mind the story of Galileo trying to prove the existence of Jupiter’s moons to a group of doubting priests. Galileo showed them the moons through his telescope only to have the priests respond “I see nothing.”

I’m a regular viewer of the show. If you watch Bill Maher he is a contrarian thinker and I’m sure he truly believes that the vaccines may not be safe. But it seems like just about the whole medical community is in favor of the vaccines. Bill Maher thinks for himself and you should also.

Maher is a wingnut on health issues. A small part of it might just be shock-value schtick, but I think he really believes the basic proposition underlying his discussion with Frist: “people who eat well and don’t smoke cigarettes do not become ill.” He had a similar conversation with Bob Costas a couple years ago and said the same thing.

This is not a rational position – it’s a belief, no different from any other religious belief Maher has excoriated on his show or his recent movie (Religiousity).

That being said, of course, his critique (not of the flu vaccine, but the health care system overall) is essentially correct – a healthy lifestyle is much more important than all the cancer treatments and heart catheterizations in the world, and our health care system needs to be radically redirected towards preventing illness rather than attempting (often in vain, always at great expense) to treat it.

I had the flu in February 2008. Prior to getting the virus, I was a healthy and very active certified fitness trainer who had never been sick, except for the common cold. After the flu, I developed asthma, and I suffer from odd neurological ailments. I now get the flu shot, and take better care to wash my hands frequently.

People are treating their misperceptions about the H1N1 vaccine as opinion, when really there are hard facts that counter that opinion.

No one seems to have any respect for science any longer.

You can cite reliable studies about the flu and vaccines until you’re blue in the face, and people will say, “I disagree,” but not back it up with any evidence. Because they disagree, all that science is irrelevant.

Someone should tell Mr. Maher that the reason to get the flu vaccine (H1N1 or just your seasonal flu vaccine) is NOT to keep yourself from getting the flu.

The reason is to prevent the spread of the flu to people who really are at risk.

He’s right, a healthy person will most likely feel yucky for a few days, and that’s it. But during that time, they’re going to unintentionally infect others before they realize they’re sick, and by doing so continue the spread of the flu. If instead, they were responsible and got their flu shot, they could have helped stop the spread of the flu before it even started.

I just wish that more health care providers would emphasize this point. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU. IT’S TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE VULNERABLE.

I’m a fan of Bill Maher’s – and try not to miss his shows. But, as others above have said, when it comes to medical advice & a few other subjects..I think he’s way off base.

What he fails to do is say why the medical community is wholeheartedly recommending flu shots. Does he think this is some kind of wide-spread conspiracy? What benefit does the government have to make this recommendation, other than in benefit to public health? Is this some sort of Orwellian fear of his? If he had solid evidence to back up his stance, I’d listen more closely. As of yet, he has not come up with such.